Civic Dissonances and Active Citizenship: The Case of Arab-Palestinian Students in Israel

A growing body of research testifies to civic activism and critical political awareness that marginalized youth largely develop outside of school, countering assumptions of the persistence of so-called civic deficits and learning gaps among students of color (Clay & Rubin, 2020; Moll & González, 1994). The framework of resource pedagogies is particularly relevant for civic education as previous research has demonstrated that community resources and knowledge can provide a meaningful basis for students’ evolving civic identities. Resource pedagogies can shape students’ civic experiences as disjuncture – when students’ experiences contrast with civic ideals, and congruence - when students perceive that their immediate civic institutions are working for their benefit (Rubin & Hayes, 2010). Given their conflictual context, we argue that the case of Arab-Palestinian students in Israel is worthy of exploration since their civic experiences may be complicated by their Israeli citizenship and their belonging to the Palestinian nation. Despite Arab-Palestinian citizens’ marginalization as a result of discriminatory policies and racism in the public sphere (Abu‐saad, 2004), previous research has shown that they attach importance to their identities as Palestinians and Israelis (Amara & Schnell, 2004). Exploring marginalized minority students’ civic experiences in a context where national identity is stressed can strengthen our understanding of civic dissonances and expand theoretical framings of civic learning in conflict-affected settings, and in general. In this presentation, we will discuss findings from a qualitative study consisting of group interviews with Arab-Palestinian high school students. The Arab-Palestinian students described complex civic experiences that are often in tension with each other – exemplified by four civic dissonances: the official versus the non-official learning resources, their citizenship as an experience of discrimination versus the use of citizenship rights for their empowerment, resistance versus accepting the status quo, and identifying as Israeli versus Palestinian. These dissonances seem to be informed by two major civic discourses: their official Israeli citizenship, as thin but granting them individual citizenship rights about which they learn as part of their civic lesson; and their Palestinian national identity, as thick and collective that informs their political awareness of injustices and motivates their civic activism, about which they learn from their homes and community. Our study highlights two conclusions: Firstly, the synergy of official curricula and out-of-school knowledge can inform students’ ‘rich’ civic identities that may enable the formation of a third space (Gutiérrez, 2008), where civic issues can be discussed from multiple perspectives. Secondly, it highlights the relevance of particular contexts and their current political, historical, economic and social conditions in shaping students’ civic learning and identities. This has important implications for citizenship education in Israel, and worldwide. The Arab-Palestinian students’ resourceful civic experiences show that meaningful civic learning is possible even in contexts where political efforts are invested to depoliticize minority students’ civic learning. Still, there is a clear need for these students’ home and community cultures to be validated in official curricula and public politics to make democratic education meaningful for all students.